Many of today’s adults grew up with the TV show, Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood. Fred Rogers was the host and he introduced children to different people in one’s community. And he helped children learn how to talk about their feelings and think about hard things that might go on in the world.
This unit study gives you a behind the scenes look into Fred Rogers’ life and helps your children think about how they can be good neighbors in their community!
Grab the book, sign-up to receive the FREE printable unit study and then explore the other resources below!
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The Book about Fred Rogers
The How to Be A Good Neighbor unit study is based upon the book Who Was Fred Rogers? This book takes you through Mr. Rogers’ childhood and TV career. This is a great read aloud for early elementary ages or an independent reading assignment for children in about grades 3-6. There are a few more books at the bottom of this post that could be added to the study.
The Fred Rogers FREE Printable Unit Study
The printable unit study includes the following:
Notebooking pages about Fred Rogers’ life.
A timeline activity to chart his life.
Create Your Own Puppet Show: Watch the video below to learn about Mr. Rogers’ love and use of puppets. Then, use this graphic organizer to plan a puppet show and follow the link below to make your own puppets and scenery!
Famous Quotes Copy Work: Nine quotes from Fred Rogers to encourage your children to love themselves and those around them.
Be A Good Neighbor Bingo Boards: Four different boards allow you to pick different ways to help your community. Color in the squares as you complete them and try to get five in a row.
Videos About Fred Rogers
A biography of Fred Rogers life. (18 minutes).
And here is an episode of Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood that you can watch. (50 minutes)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5FFFbXWqbw&list=PLXw6bhFJGPfSdxefZqOqIGcodBuapJUai
You can watch more episodes by purchasing them from Amazon.
Learn more about Mr. Rogers here. And learn about the Fred Rogers Center and explore their archives here.
Make Puppets
Making puppets and creating your own puppet show is a super fun way to appreciate the work that Fred Rogers did.
Learn more about Mr. Rogers history with puppets. (4 minutes)
Watch one of his puppet skits. (5:25 minutes)
Now, use the printable page from above to design your own skit!
Then, make the puppets to go in your show and create a background for your setting. Here are several different types of puppets for your children to make. Pick the one(s) appropriate for their developmental levels. Many use household objects.
Finally, have your children put on their puppet show for the family.
Movies and Documentaries
The documentary, Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, is available for rent on Amazon Prime. It is not rated, but is suggested for ages 10 and up.
At the writing of this post, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, starring Tom Hanks is available for purchase on a variety of platforms. It is rated PG and suggested for ages 10 and up.